I had my first semi-success with the sourdough starter this week.  After several failures!  It isn't easy to convert from an inveterate bread machine bread maker, to a by hand sourdough bread maker, believe me.

The most frustrating part has been that a lot of the success of your bread depends on learning whether or not it "looks about right."  There are a few guidelines to what looks right and what doesn't, but unfortunately you really do have to develop a sense of your own, about whether a loaf is too dry or too wet, whether it needs more kneading, or any kneading, or just a bit of folding, and whether it's done rising or not risen enough, or (horrors never end!) over-risen.

There are three basic stages to bread dough:

1.  The initial mixing of ingredients.  

I don't have a stand mixer, so I'm mixing everything in by hand.  I basically try to mix it all enough that it is homogenous, and I don't aim for actual kneading.

The most common error at this point is making your dough too dry.  As it rises and the yeasts do their work, a lot of the moisture will be consumed in the process.  This means that however it looks now, it will be a lot drier by the time it's done.

I aimed for a dough that is just firm enough to pick up a handful.  As opposed to my first two attempts, which were way too wet and sloppy - like cake batter.  Don't worry if your dough is too wet, you can add more flour later.  But dough that is too dry can fail to form properly.

2. Periodic kneading

I have been splitting the difference and taking the middle road here.  Two or three times during the rise, I will fold the dough. I do this using a spatula, following the (ever so hypnotic) procedure I learned about here.  I prefer to knead less, and let the dough rise for longer.  

My understanding is that each method lies somewhere on that continuum.  A bread maker kneads your dough a lot, and your bread is done in three hours (plus baking time).  At the other end you have the various "no knead" recipes, in which you never knead, but it takes the dough 24 hours to rise.

There is a lot of talk about how kneading helps to "develop the gluten strands."  I frankly don't know if there's any science behind that or not.  I do know that a bit of folding helps to redistribute the yeast and flour, and keeps the rising process moving a bit.

3.  Is it ready to bake?

In the last few hours of rising, the bread will have a big change in texture.  It goes to what some call 'baby bottom smooth" and others call "cellulite."  It becomes lumpy underneath, with a smooth, relatively dry cover.

Your bread is ready to bake when, if you poke it, the dent doesn't fill in.  I found with my loaf that if I could perform this test without the dough sticking to my finger, it was ready!

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user Dalboz17